Window-washing apparatus



E PflTOU WINDOW WASHING APPARATUS Filed April 26. 1.922 2: Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEINTOH [z zne .Pzw

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E. PETOU WINDOW WASHING APPARATUS Filed April 26 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented 9, 1923.,

teases EUGENE PITOU, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

i/VINDQWJNA, HING 'AIPARATUS.

Application an April 2 T 0 all 107mm- ?I' wzay concern Be it known that L Eocene Prro u. a citizen of the United States, and a resident at the borough of ll lanhattan, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lllindowashing Apparatus, of which the following a specification.

This invention to an improved window washing apparatus and in its broader aspects comprehends means whereby the washing of the windows of modern Factories elf-industrial establishments, may be expedited. As is well known, in the mod ern type of such buildings provision s made for obtaining a maximum of light and ventilation, and to this end the greater part of each wall of the building is composed of panes of glass. Unless the exterior surface of these glass panes are cleaned at more or less frequent intervals, the collection of dust and dirt thereon will render the same semi opaque and impede or obstruct the penetration of the suns rays to such an extent that the advantageous results from the standpoint of sanitation and the health of the employees which it was aimed to secure in he erection of the building, is, to a large extent, frustrated.

Owing to the fact that the cleaning of such factory windows is more (or less difficult, laborious and tline-'-consruning; opera tion, the windows are washed or cleaned very infrequently and then in a hurried and inadequate manner. By means of the present invention I aim .to provide. a simple and comparatively inexpensive apparatus which will enable such extensive areas of glass windows to be expeditiously, as well as thoroughly cleaned whenever the necessity therefor arises with relatively little manual labor.

To this end, in one embodiment of my proposed invention, a suitalne scaffold is suspended from an inclined-rail arranged beneath the root cornice of the building, the suspending means including cables connect ed to suitable hoisting devices carried by the scaffold so that the latter can be readily raised or lowered whenever necessary. Suitable means is also provided to be operated by the workmen on the scaffold which co-operates with a toothed portion of the rail to hold the suspended scaffolding against 1922. Serial No. 556,727.

gravity movement longitudinally of the inelined rail so that the scaffold maybe retained at any desired position with respect to the building wall.

it is also one of the important objects of my invention to provide means whereby the travelling; carriage of the scaffold. suspension means ean be readily moved around the corner of the building without dis cing said carriage from the continuous y inclined rail.

lVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved win dow washing; apparatus and in the form, construction and relative arrangement of the several parts thereof as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and subsequently incorporated in the subjoined claims.

in the drawings wherein I have disclosed one simple md practical form of the invention and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throng rent the several views:

Figure 1 a perspective view showing section of a factory or other building equipped with my improved window washing apparatus:

F :2 is an enlarged transverse section illustrating the manner of mounting the scaffold suspending'means upon the wall of the building; i

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement oi the continuous inclined rail; i

Fig. 4 is a detail section showing the incl; and pawl means for holding the scaffold against movement longitudinally of the rail; 4

Fig. 5 is detail fragmentary perspec tive view of .e supporting rail;

F 5 an enlarged detail elevation. of part of the scaffold suspension means; and

6 is similar view showing; a slight modification;

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of one end of the scaffold and the suspension means therefor.

In the drawings 1 have illustrated a conventional and well known type of the mods ern factory building in which each of the four side walls of the building is largely made upof numerous relatively small glass panes 5. Beneath the cornice 6 otthelouild-v ing a substantially continuous rail is mounted. As herein shown, this rail consists of two angle bars 7, arranged in opposed rela-- tion and fixed at intervals to the wall brackets 8 with the adjacent edges of the horizontally disposed flanges spaced apart;

Upon referring to Figure 3 of the drawings it will be observed that in starting from one corner of the building, this supporting rail extends at a downward inclination around the four sides of the building. Accordingly, it will be seen that the starting end of the rail is at a higher elevat on than the opposite end thereof. A switching rail 8 connects this lowermost end or the rail 7 to said rail adjacent to the higher end thereof. It will be understood that the rail members 7 are slightly rounded at each corner of the building.

From the rail 7 the scaffold structure is suspended. The suspension means for the scaffold includes a carriage consisting of two bars 10 hingedly connected to each other as at 11. At their other ends these car riage bars are also connected to the carriage trucks 12 by means of spring hinges 13, the frame of each truck being mounted between spaced pairs of wheels traveling on the horizontal flanges of the rail members 7 and depending between said flanges as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawings.

Upon each end of the scaitold structure 9 which may be of any approved construction, a hoisting device 14 is mounted, said device including a take-up drum for the cable 15. said cables being respectively attached to the spaced wheel supported frames of the carriage.

In order to retain the scaffold structure in an adjusted position and prevent the gravitational movement thereof longitudinally along the inclined supporting rail, I provide the underside of the horizontal flange of one rail member 7 with the teeth 16 with which one end of a pivoted pawl or dog 17 is non mally held in engagement by means of a spring 18. This dog is mounted upon one of the depending wheel supportedirames of the carriage and to the end thereoi, which is engaged with the teeth 16, the upper end of a wire or rope 19 is attached. This wire is automatically wound upon the slack takeup spool 20 which is suitably mounted in the supporting frame for one of the hoisting devices 14 so that as the scaffold structure is elevated by the operation of the hoisting devices, the slack in the wire 19 will be automatically taken up.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings I have shown an alternative form of the braking means for the scaffold wherein the teeth 16 are eliminated and in lieu of the dog 17 a cam member 17 is provided. This cam member is pivotally mounted at one of its ends upon the carriage truck 12 and at its other end is faced upon its upper edge with a suitable material of a frictional nature, said edge of the cam member being normally held in contact against the underside of the flange of the rail 7 by a suitable spring 18.

In the operation of the improved window washing apparatus, starting from the higher end oi the inclined rail 7 at one corner of the building with the scaffold at the lower end of the first vertical sub-division of the buiding wall, all of the windows in such sub-division are first washed, the scaflold structure being gradually elevated by the operation of the hoisting devices. The op erator then pulls the wire 19 to release the holding dog 17 so that the carriage will gravitate longitudinally along the inclined supporting rail until the scaffold is positioned opposite the next vertical tier of windows. As the washing of this tier of windows progresses, the scaffold is grad,

ually lowered. The holding dog 17 is then again released and the operations above described repeated until all of the windows along one side of the building have been washed. Upon arriving at the corner of the building with the scaffold structure adjacent to the ground, the workmen get off of the scaffold and move the same around the cor ner oithe building, pulling upon the cables 15 so as to cause the carriage trucks 12 to move around the bended corners of the sup porting rail. hen the carriage truck next adjacent the corner of the building first strikes the bend of the rail, the two bars 10 of the supporting carriage will move to an angular position relative to each other, the spring hinges 13 yielding in such angular movement so that there will. be no binding of the carriage wheels with the supporting rail members. When both of the carriage trucks have been moved around the corner of the building, the spring hinges 13 return the carriage bars 10 to their normal position in substantially parallel relation to the suporting rail. The washing of the windows on this side of the building then progresses, as above described. In this manner the windows on all four sides of the building may be washed in a comparatively short period of time and with relatively little manual labor.

When the scaifold returns to the starting point at the lower end of the rail 7 by a sudden or quick pull upon the suspending cables 15, the traveling carriage is caused to move over the switch rail 8 so that it will again be positioned upon the uppermost end of the inclined rail 7. When the apparatus is not in use, the scaflold structure may be elevated to a position immediately beneath the uppermost windows where it will not obstruct the vision and in a position so that the workmen may readily have access thereto iron"; the interior or" the building when it again becomes wash the windows.

From the foregoing description considered in connection with the accompanying rflrawings, the construction, manner of use and several. advantages of the invention will be fully understood. It will be seen that I have provided a window washing apparatus which will be highly convenient and serv iceable in use and particularly advanta goons for the puropse of washing the extensire areas of glass window panes such as are provided in the erection of modern industrial buildings. The apparatus as herein disclosed is also relatively simple so that the application ol the same "for use upon existing building structures will not involve a considerable financial outlay.

In the foregoing description I have re terred to a particular means for suspending the scaffold structure from the inclined sup porting rail and for adjustably retaining the scaflold in various positions along the length or the rail. Such disclosure, however. is purely suggestive and in practice it may, in many cases, be :tound necessary or desirable to adopt other alternative means for att ecting the movement and positioning of the scat fold structure as the window washing operation progresses. Therefore, it is to be understood that while I have herein described one simple and practical embodiment of the invention, the device is nevertheless susceptible of various modifications in the form, proportion and relative arrangement of the several parts. Accordingly, I reserve the privilege of resorting to all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim i. In a window washing apparatus, wall brackets, a horizontally inclined rail mounted upon said brackets, carriage trucks mounted upon said rail, connecting bars hinged together and to said trucks, a scaflold secured to said trucks, hoisting devices carried by said scaflbld and connected to said trucks, and means pivotally mounted upon said trucks engaging said rails for adjustnecessary to ably holding the carriages against travelling movement upon said rail.

2. In a window washing machine, wall brackets, a rail mounted upon said brackets and consisting of angle bars arranged in 0pposite relation and fined at intervals to the wall brackets with the adjacent edges of the horizontally disposed flanges spaced apart, carriage trucks mounted between the spaced flanges of said bars and having wheels, travelling on the horizontal flanges of said rail, said trucks depending between said flanges, hinged bars directly connecting said trucks, a scall'old secured to said depending trucks, hoisting devices carried by said scallolds and connected to said trucks, and means pivotally mounted upon said trucks engaging said rails for adjustably holding the carriage against travelling movement upon said rail.

In a window washing apparatus, wall brackets, a rail mounted upon said brackets and provided with a flange having teeth on its under surface, carriage trucks mounted upon the flange of said rail, bars flexibly connecting said trucks, a scaffold secured to said trucks, hoisting devices carried by said scaffold and connected to said trucks, and means pivotally mounted upon said trucks engaging the tooth surface of said rail for adjustably holding the carriage against travelling movement upon said rail.

l. In a window washing. machine, wall. brackets, a continuous supporting rail inclined horizontally along each side of a building, and consisting of angle bars arranged in opposite relation to each other with adjacent edges of their horizontally disposed flanges spaced apart, carriage trucks mounted upon said rail, means for flexibly connecting said trucks together, a scaffold secured to said trucks, hoisting devices carried by said scaffold and connected to said trucks, and means mounted upon said trucks engaging said rails for adjustably holding the carriages against travelling movement upon said rail.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 1y invention, I have signed my name hereunder.

EUGENE PITOU. 

